MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team took the first set from No. 1 UCLA before falling 3-1 on Friday night in front of a capacity crowd inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium. UCLA won by set scores of 23-25, 25-19, 25-21, and 25-19.
The Bobcats (4-16, 1-11) are the first NCAA Division II team to take a set off UCLA since Lewis University on January 11, 2024. UCLA had won 41 consecutive sets against NCAA Division II foes entering the night.
Joshua Woodhams led the Bobcats with eight kills, two blocks, and a service ace. One of his two blocks was solo.
Mason Stokes finished with seven kills, six digs, two service aces, and a block.
Max Niederberger tallied six kills without an error on seven swings to go along with four blocks, one solo. Both Niederberger's kills and blocks numbers marked season-high's.
Anthony Alaniz had six kills hitting .357, a block, and a service ace.
Toby Miller recorded 26 assists, three blocks, two kills, two digs, and a service ace.
Jozef Lingenfelter added six digs, five kills, and a solo block.
Max Niederberger opened up the match with a solo block and the Bobcats had a couple two-point leads early in the first set before UCLA responded with a 6-1 burst to go up 8-5. The Bobcats fought back to pull even at 12-12 capped by a block from Alaniz and Cole. The duo then posted back-to-back kills to give the Bobcats a 14-13 lead. Tied 16-16 shortly after, Woodhams led a 3-0 spurt with an ace and a kill and the Bobcats led for the rest of the set. UC Merced was up three points at 23-20 but the lead was cut to just one at 23-22 and 24-23. Stokes captured set point with a kill to do something no other NCAA Division II team had done in two years, beat the Bruins in a set.
The second set saw four ties and three lead changes through the first eight rallies before UCLA created initial separation with a 6-0 run. UC Merced cut the deficit in half at 12-9 and pulled within a point later on at 16-15 after a Woodhams kill. The teams continued to trade sideouts for a stretch as the score remained a one-point game at 20-19. UCLA then scored five straight to win the set to even the match. UCLA hit .448 in the frame.
UC Merced's only lead in set three was 3-2. The Bobcats were within a point at 10-9 after a Stokes kill but UCLA started to pull away with a 6-2 burst. UCLA reached 20 points while leading 20-14. Later on, a Woodhams solo block helped the Bobcats cut the deficit in half again as they trailed 22-19. However, the Bobcats couldn't get any closer and fell 25-21 to fall behind 2-1 in the match.
UCLA grabbed an early lead in the fourth set and never let it go, leading by four points at 10-6 and by five at 13-8. The Bobcats cut the deficit to three a couple times, but a 5-1 UCLA burst to go up 19-12 ended up being too much to overcome. UCLA was serving for match point up 24-18. Lingenfelter extended the match with a kill but a UC Merced service error ended the match.
UCLA's David Decker held match-high with 14 kills on a .647 percentage and had four service aces. Micah Wong Diallo had 12 kills hitting .667. Andrew Rowan finished with 41 assists across the final three sets.
Up next, UC Merced will host Jessup for Senior Night on Wednesday, April 15. First serve inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium is scheduled for 6:00pm.
